8.1.12

snail mail | national letter writing week

let's get real today shall we? today marks the beginning of national letter writing week 2012. oh, didn't you know that was a thing?* well, if you didn't know - now you do so let's celebrate accordingly!

as you can tell from this post, i have very specific beliefs about friendship. i don't believe you have to chat every day, and hear every little nuance of someone else's life in order to consider yourselves "friends." but life moves us all in different directions and keeping in touch is difficult.

personally, i find talking on the phone to be very challenging. it's not a form of communication that i have ever really warmed too. and just like speaking in person - it's so easy to get off track. before you know it you're both talking in detail about what you ate for lunch that day. and you entirely forget to tell them about your new job, your child's birthday or the fact that you are having marital troubles.

the solution to this? write a letter! get some proper writing paper (not a card), and a nice ballpoint pen and let your thoughts fly. reminisce about the past, share all the details of your current life and invite your recipient to respond in kind. follow this tried and true technique if you have writer's block.

here's the thing. yes, you could write an email. i actually love emails and send about a thousand a day.** but a handwritten (or hey, typed) letter really shows someone you care. i generally send and receive letters with my friends. but every once in while i send something to my aunt or my mother and they just seem so...taken aback. so thrilled to receive something other than bills in the mail! it hardly even matters what you write. when your recipient opens his or her mailbox, they will be delighted that you have taken the time to write it, seal it, stamp it and post it.

so, i invite you - nay - i deeply encourage you, to get some pretty stationery, and put pen to paper in honour of your friendships this week. aside from being a very therapeutic activity, your letter writing will make someone literally jump for joy while checking their mail (just imagine it!).

* as it turns out - pretty much everything is a 'thing' - january alone is celebrated as "eye care" month, "hot tea" month, national "staying healthy month" and more. there are also specific celebrations for "festival of sleep" day, "cuddle up" day and even "peculiar people" day! who thinks of this stuff?
** well, not actually thousand. who am i - grace bonney of design sponge?

ooooh, i just found your blog today so missed 2012's letter writing week. I'd love it if you'd remind us about it next year but maybe even in advance, so we all have time to scramble about, stocking up on fantastic writing paper, stamps and ink for our fountain pens (you mentioned ball points... really?!)

One of the things I find most touching about real letters is seeing a loved one's hand-writing: truly, like a page of tiny gifts tucked into an envelope!

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about

kaitlyn patience is a creative professional with a passion for the arts, community engagement, and the contemporary craft movement. here you'll find modern art features, stationery and snail mail, and the musings of a new mother.